Date: Sun, 5 Feb 1995 17:11:59 -0500 (EST)
From: David Casti
Subject: ACTION ALERT: California School District
Submitted by: Jessea Greenman
(From publication called "CTA Action. Vol. 33, No. 5,
Jan/Feb '95. CTA=California Teachers Association.)
The cancellation of a workshop for teachers on the problems gay & lesbian
students face at school has prompted 34 West Covina teachers to file a
lawsuit against two school board members and the superintendent.
The teachers are charging that the action violated their
rights under the First and 14th Amendments to the Constitution and the
Civil Rights Act.
The cancellation came at the command of school board president Mike Spence
and trustee Joe Mount. BOTH BOARD MEMBERS ADMITTED TO REPORTERS THAT,
ALTHOUGH THEY HAD NOT READ THE MATERIAL SUBMITTED MONTHS AHEAD OF TIME AND
HAD NOT HAD TIME TO DISCUSS THE MATTER WITH THE FULL BOARD, THEY "DIDN'T
LIKE THE TITLE" AND FEARED THE WORKSHOP WOULD PROMOTE HOMOSEXUALITY.
Guy De Rosa, president of El Monte Elementary Teachers Association, was
distressed to think that the West Covina school board was accusing him of
promoting homosexuality to 13- and 14-year-old students. "The
fact is, my workshop was not directed at students, but rather at the
teachers who would be able to help the students. I was scheduled to speak
to educators. We are professionals and we need to be treated as such."
He added "Gay and lesbian students are at the highest risk of suicide among
all the at-risk students. Their needs must be addressed and I, for one,
intend to see that their needs are met."
The workshop, "Out of the Closet and into the Classroom," was one of 65
scheduled for the third annual Region Q Partnership Middle School
Symposium. More than 500 teachers and principals were expected to
participate.
The Region Q Partnership Schools is a private, nonprofit organization in
which participating principals and teachers from eastern San Bernadino
County and parts of Los Angeles County hold discussions that help them deal
with issues pertinent to middle school students. But, since a West Covina
district school was the site of the conference, the steering committee of
teachers and principals who had planned the symposium had no choice but to
acquiesce to the demands of the West Covina trustees, even though the
cancellation came just the Friday before the Monday event, leaving no
chance to appeal the decision.
In addition to claiming the action violated their constitutional and civil
rights, the teachers are asking the court to rule that the cancellation
violated the Civic Center Act, which stipulates that public school
facilities are available for citizens and associations "to meet and discuss
any subjects and questions that pertain to the educational interests of the
citizens of the communities in which they reside."
The decision was supported by West Covina schools superintendent John
Costello. While the teachers and a few administrators were protesting
outside the host school, Spence and Costello were reportedly watching and
making note of West Covina employees who were taking part.
Noted Kim Breen, president of the Teachers Association of West Covina,
"Ours is one of the few districts in the state where the school board voted
to cancel the state-mandated HIV/AIDS education program. These decisions
are not made in the best interests of the students." Breen is a plaintiff
in the suit. She added "The trouble is that these trustees do not want any
reference to sexuality brought up in West Covina. It's a tragedy that we
are prevented from providing [any kind of] sex education programs for our
students because of the narrow, personal views of some school board
members."
School board president Spence was quoted in a newspaper as saying that
"teachers are not paid to be counselors."
"That's ludicrous," says De Rosa. "My school has not had a counselor in
four years due to budget cuts in our district. Just who do they think is
counseling the students anyway? When students have problems, they come to
teachers for help."
Please write to:
School Board President Mike Spence
West Covina School District Administrative Offices
1717 W. Merced Ave
West Covina CA 91790.
phone: 818-338-8411.
Ask that your letters be cc'd to all other
school board members and to the superintendent,
John Costello.
Letters of support may be sent to Guy De Rosa
and Kim Breen at the same address.
*+*+*+*+*+*+
Jessea Greenman
Co-Chair, Project 21, GLAAD/SFBA
1360 Mission #200, San Francisco CA 94103
ph/fax @ home: 510-601-8883
"If love is the answer, could you please
rephrase the question?" Lily Tomlin